


Paranormal Petrol

by Queerbutstillhere



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Horror Fiction, Mild Horror, Original Statement (The Magnus Archives), birthday gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28680114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queerbutstillhere/pseuds/Queerbutstillhere
Summary: Statement of Luke Burns. Regarding their experience in a petrol station. Original Statement given on March 16th, 2018. Audio Recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 6





	Paranormal Petrol

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bisexualoftheblade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualoftheblade/gifts).



> Hello folks!
> 
> This is a wonderful little gift for someone who is very dear to me. They've meant a lot to me for a really long time, and I just love showing how much I love them and making them screech through that.
> 
> This little fic is inspired by a story I was told! I have permission from that story teller to rewrite and share this with you all, and yes. This is a real thing that happened. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Cai, I can't wait to see your reactions.

_ "Statement of Luke Burns. Regarding their experience in a petrol station. Original Statement given on March 16th, 2018. Audio Recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London." _

_ "Statement begins." _  
  


"I was traveling to my parents home from my University. It was a Friday, and I had just gotten out of work from the pool where I taught beginner swim lessons. It wasn't a particularly interesting day at work, though a couple kids kept horsing around and one of them had to be sent home early because he wouldn't listen. The drive from my apartment to my parents’ is almost two hours, and nothing weird happened as I was driving.

"In fact, I spent most of the drive listening to this comedy show, and playing the letter game by myself. Except I kept forgetting what letter I was on, and having to start all over again.

"It was raining a bit as I drove, nothing bad enough to cause traffic, but enough to be noticeable. The other drivers were minding their own business, and weren't causing any issues as I zipped between lanes - maybe I was speeding a bit, but everyone speeds on the freeway.

"But I suppose I should skip to the reason why I'm here. I was a little over an hour into my drive when I decided to stop. I needed fuel and to use the bathroom, so I pulled over at this petrol station. I don't even really remember where it was anymore; I did my best to forget this for so long.

"I've been asked by friends before why I don't just take the bus back to Ludlow. I just like driving, but ever since this I've been taking the bus more. Once I got to the petrol station, I stopped and checked my phone quickly before heading inside. I needed to use the bathroom and get some coffee and I figured I'd do that first. So I went inside, and that's when things got weird.

"The first thing I noticed was just this  _ chilling _ feeling. The store felt empty and cold, and it felt… it felt like nothing was quite real. As I walked into the store, and as I looked around, I realized there was no one in the building. I was the only one there. There wasn't even someone at the register. But I ignored it and went to the bathroom. I don't think I need to explain that part of this story. 

"When I was washing my hands, however, I looked up at myself in the mirror and noticed that I looked pale and sickly. My eyes looked glassy and sunk in, and my hair was greasy. I was, obviously, alarmed, because when I had seen myself in the car mirror last, I looked healthy, and I had just showered that morning before leaving. I decided it had to be the light playing tricks on me, so I quickly dried my hands and grabbed my things before turning to leave. 

"When I turned back to the door, I noticed something weird. There were two locks on the door. I  _ swear _ that when I went in, there was only one, just one of the locks on the door handle itself. But now there were two. The door handle one, and one that slid across the gap between the door and the doorframe. I went to undo the sliding one, but it wouldn't move. It was like it was frozen in place. I pulled and pulled and pushed on it, and it didn't budge. Hell, I even took off my shoe and tried hitting it to get it to open.

"I swear I fought that lock for nearly ten minutes. I was so close to giving up and calling someone, the police, maybe. I felt like I was suffocating, like all the air was being sucked out of the room. I remember… I remember thinking to myself  _ I am not dying in a shitty petrol station in the middle of fucking nowhere _ . And out loud I said "Fuck off, let me out!". 

"And when I tried the latch next, it slid out. It slid out so fast and easily that I actually got my hand caught and cut a section of skin out of the side of it. But I didn't notice that at first, and just yanked the door open and hurried out. I was feeling even more uneasy at this point, and as soon as I stepped out into the store, I noticed that something had changed. There was now a man behind the register. But calling him a man is being generous. Because while he looked like a human, he just stood there, staring at me, unblinkingly. And it was like… like he was shimmering, or fading in and out of reality.

"There was another man over by the fridge area, and he was just staring at me too. He wasn't even shopping. He was just standing there. And while he wasn't shimmering, his head was ticking back and forth just slightly, enough to be noticeable if you looked long enough. He also wasn't blinking.

"It was about this time that I realized that all the shelves in the store, everything that had snacks and convenience items, was just not real. The best way I've been able to describe it was like if I had been a video character, and those shelves were items you couldn't interact with. They were there, but at the same time not there. Like 2D cardboard cutouts.

"I stood by the bathroom in a trance for a bit, unsure what to do. I felt like I was going to die. The lights were flickering in and out now, almost like a strobe light. I walked over to the register in a daze and shoved some money over to the man, asking for my fuel. He didn't look away from me once while he pressed whatever buttons on the keypad. I was getting chills everywhere, like bugs crawling all over my skin. As soon as he held out my receipt I grabbed it and started walking away. I actually ripped the receipt in half in my rush to get away.

"As I was walking to the doors, hell, I was practically running, I noticed the other man was walking towards me, very quickly, like he was trying to stop me. I didn't hesitate, I just slammed into the doors. They were locked. I grabbed the little lock knob and shoved it open and then I just fucking raced out of there, fully shaking. I nearly collapsed when I got to my car. I got inside and locked the doors. When I looked back up at the gas station, the lights were no longer flickering, and there were now several customers milling around inside. 

"That's when I noticed I had cut my hand. The moment I noticed it I felt this… well, it felt like  _ something _ attached to me. Like that place had taken a part of me and replaced it with itself. I bandaged my hand with an old handkerchief I had in my car and got out, quickly refueling my car. The moment I had refueled, I got back in and just left. I didn't look back, and I decided to never go back to that petrol station ever again.

"I got back to my parents’ house and told them this story and they thought I was crazy, told me I needed to stop drinking so much caffeine and alcohol, and needed to get more sleep. And the weird part was I forgot it for  _ several  _ weeks. And then one day I was just sitting in my apartment, and my mate asked me where I got a scar on my hand from and I looked down and it all just came rushing back. He called me crazy, too.

"So. I don't know what you guys will make of this. Call me crazy, or a druggie or whatever. But I think I actually walked into a store that was partially in another dimension and barely escaped with my life. I haven’t gone back to that petrol station, I don't know what creatures I saw in that store, and I don't know what it took from me, but I've never felt quite the same since."  
  


_ "Statement Ends." _

_ "Well. An interesting take, but I think it's just a tale at best. Probably a mixture of anxiety and sleep deprivation. Maybe just a classic case of hallucination. Or, as Mx. Burns said, maybe even a case of a drug induced state. In any of these cases, it's a fascinating story to have created." _

_ "Sasha did some checking, and we couldn't seem to locate a petrol station where Mx. Burns claims they stopped. The closest guess we could make was a condemned petrol station in Gobowen. But it had been closed in 2015, so I doubt this is Mx. Burns’ petrol station of their story. _

_ "As far as Mx. Burns claims that they were in another dimension, this seems simply implausible. Interdimensional travel is a theoretical process, and has yet to even been indicated as possible. And buildings don't just steal parts of people, nor do they leave anything in the person either. Except maybe splinters. So this interesting tale will stay a tale." _

_ "Recording ends." _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to everyone for reading!! I hope you enjoyed my first dive into this fandom! I've only listened to episode 18 so far, but I'm very intrigued on what the hell is happening here.
> 
> Thank you so much to my dear friends who helped me with this project, listened to me scream, and vibe checked this fic for me. Please go show them some love! [dont-taunt-the-octopus,](https://dont-taunt-the-octopus.tumblr.com/) [desert-lily,](https://desert-lily.tumblr.com/) and [shelbychild!](https://shelbychild.tumblr.com/)
> 
> As Always you can check me out on tumblr at [Queerbutstillhere](https://queerbutstillhere.tumblr.com/) and [Queerbutstillhere-writes](https://queerbutstillhere-writes.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Kudos and Comments are always so appreciated! And I will see you guys in the next fic!


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